Velocipede



2 sheets-'sheet 2.

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Patented Deo. 19,1893,

"UN/Hsin STATES -P'ATENT Ferca.

WALTER R. DIEHL, OF PITTSBURG, AND EDlVIN G. DIEHL, OF SHARPSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

lVELOCIPEDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,290, dated December 19, 1893.

lApplication tiled November 14, 1892. Serial No. 451,848. (No model.) I

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WALTER R. DIEHL, residing` at Pittsburg, and EDWIN G. DIEHL, residing at Sharpsburg, in the county of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinVelocipedes; and

we do hereby declare the following tobe may convert the machinefrom a high to a lowl speed cycle, or vice versa, at will, thus facilitating hill-climbing and travel over heavy zo roads. With this object in view, the invention consists in certain novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the annexed drawings, which fully illustrate our invention, .Figurel is a vertical sec- 'tion of the crank shaft of a cycle provided with our improvements. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, the crank being removed. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional lview taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is a similar view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail end view of the outer shell shown in Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a detail section of the eccentric bearing shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 7 and S 3 5 are detail views of the sliding collar or clutch shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 9 is a detail section of the cam for shiftingthe gearing. Fig. 10 is a detail elevation of the clutch-shifting lever and its support.v

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, l designates the crank shaft to which the crank arm 2 and the inner gear wheel 3 are secured by means of keys 4, as clearly shown. The gear Wheel 3, it will be noticed, meshes with a double gear-wheel 5, which is mounted loosely on an eccentric bearing 6 which is litted loosely on the crankshaft 1, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The said gear-wheel 5 is prevented from slipping laterally off the said 5e bearing by means of a crescent shaped plate 7 which is secured to the said bearing and projects upward beside the said gear-wheel. The eccentric bearing 6 is provided on its sleeve or arm with the smooth cylindrical surface 8 uponl whichlthe sprocket wheel 9 is 55 loosely mounted and beyond said smooth surface 8 it is provided with the longitudinal grooves 10 which extend toits end, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 8. The sprocket-Wheel 9 is provided with the usual sprocket teeth 1l 6o over which the ordinary sprocket-chain is eugaged ,to transmit motion to the cycle wheel. The sprocket-wheel is further provided with the internal gear-teeth l2 which mesh with the external teeth of the wheel 5, as shown most clearly in Fig. l, and to the outer face of the sprocket-wheel we secure a dust-cap 13 which extends over the inner gear-wheel so as to prevent dust and dirt accumulating therein. The hub 14 of the sprocket-wheel is 7o provided with notches 15 in its end which register with the grooves 10 of` the eccentric bearing and are adapted to be engaged bythe sliding clutch or collar hereinafter referred to.

A shell 16 encircles the crank-shaft and 75 has its ends enlarged so as to accommodate the sliding clutch or collar 17 and the antifriction bearings, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. That end of this shell which is nearest the sprocket-wheel ts snugly within a sand- 8o band or ring 1S which is formed on the outer face of the sprocket-wheel so as to prevent the entrance of dirt and dust to the interior y of the shell. The ends of the shell are provided with the recesses 19 in which we secure 8 5 the race-ways 2O which receive and hold the balls or bearings 2l. The hubv of the sprocket wheel 9 is constructed with similar recesses 22 which receive and hold the cones 23 over which the bearings move. At the end of the 9o crank-shaft opposite the sprocket-wheel, we mount the adjustable cone 24 which is provided With an annular flange 25 adapted to encircle the end of the shell and thereby prevent the entrance of dirtand dust. This adjustable cone can be turned inward along the crank-shaft so as to compensate for the wear on the bearings and after it has been adjusted it is secured in position by means of the clamp 26 which is secured to the crankroo arm, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The shell is further provided with notches 27 which are l l of the same.

adapted to be engaged by the clutch or collar 17 which is mounted upon the sleeve of the eccentric bearing and moves in the grooves This sliding clutch or collar is provided with the internal transverse lugs 28 which engage the said grooves l0 and it is also provided with the endlugs29 which are adapted to engage the notches 27 in the shell or the notches l5 of the sprocket-wheel. The clutch is further provided with the external annular groove 30 whichis engaged by .the ends of a forked lever 3l which is fulcrumed upon a cap 32 secured to the shell. The said cap is provided with a pair of lugs 33 between which the leveris fulcrumed and the lever extends upward therefrom through a slot or opening 34; in the shell to engage the clutch. The cap is further provided with a depending post 35 in which the end of the cam 36 isjournaled,the said cam being secured to the end of a iiexible shaft 37 and passing through an eye 3S at theend cf a strap 39 which is pivoted to thelower end of thelever 3l. `The exible rod or shaft 37 is constructed with a core consisting` of a number of steel Wires of suitable thickness tightly twisted together. A number of similar wires are then twisted over and around this central core in the opposite direction and the end soldered or brazed together, one end of the shaft being then secured in the socket of the cam 36 and the other end provided with an operating lever. This construction of the shaft imparts torsional strength thereto in either direction.

Ordinarily the clutch is thrown out so as to engage the notches l5 in the sprocket-wheel 9 and thereby lock the same to the eccentric bearing 6. l/Vhen thus arranged, the machine will be driven at a very high speed but will have a correspondingly low power for climbing hills or traveling heavy roads. lf it be desired to climb a hill or travel a heavy road without the necessity of an increased exertion on the part of the rider, the HeXible shaft is given a partial turn and the cam 36 consequently caused to draw the strap 39 outward thereby vibrating the lever 3l and throwing the clutch inward to engage the notch es 27 on the shell. The eccentric bearings will thus be prevented from rotating and the machine will be driven at a lower speed than before but will be found to possess greater power to travel heavy roads or climb hills.

It will be noticed that the several parts are all very compactly arranged so as to occupy but very little room and consequently not interfere with the manipulation of the machine. The several parts are all protected against the entrance and accumulation of dust and dirt and wear on the internal surfacesis consequently reduced to a minimum. The raceways and cones for the balls or bearings are iitted in place in such a manner that they are held very securely and at the same time may be quickly and easily removed when worn out to permit the substitution of new parts. The iiexible shaft may be carried to the sad` dle or the handle bar of the machine or to any other 4convenient point of the frame where it may be easily and readily operated by the rider.

The frame of the machine is not a part of our invent-ion and may be any of the forms or styles now in common use or any form that may be hereinafter specially produced.

Slight changes may be made in the details of construction or in the form or proportion of the parts without departing from the priuciples of our invention and we do not, therefore, limit ourselves to the exact device illustrated.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination with the driving shaft, of an eccentric mounted thereon, a pinion secured on the driving shaft, a sprocket wheel mounted on the sleeve of the eccentric, a double-gear wheel mounted on the eccentric and engaging the pinion and the sprocket wheel, and means for locking the sprocket wheel to the eccentric.

2. The combination with the driving shaft and the shell encircling the same, of an eccentric mounted loosely on the driving shaft, a pinion secured on said shaft, a double gear wheel mounted on the eccentric and meshing with the pinion, a sprocket wheel mounted on the sleeve of the eccentric and provided with internal gear teeth meshing with the double gear wheel, and a clutch mounted on the sleeve of the eccentric and adapted to engage the shell or the sprocket wheel.

3. The combination of the driving shaft, the pinion secured thereon, the eccentric loosely mounted on the shaft and having its sleeve provided with longitudinal grooves, the shell surrounding the driving shaft, the double gear wheel mounted on the eccentric and meshing with the pinion, the sprocket Wheel mounted loosely on the sleeve of the eccentric and provided with internal teeth meshing with the double gear wheel, and a sliding clutch mounted in the grooves of the eccentric and adapted to engage the shell or the sprocket wheel.

4. The combination with the shell, the driving shaft, and the eccentric gearing arranged substantially as described, of aclutch mounted on the shaft and adapted to engage the shell'or the eccentric gearing, a cap secured on the shell and having a depending post, a lever pivoted to the cap and engaging the clutch, a cam journaled in the depending post, a link connecting the cam with the lever, and a iiexible shaft secured to the cam and adapted to rotate the same.

In testimony whereof we aflix oursgnatures in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER R. DIEHL. EDWIN Gr. DIEI-IL. llfitnesses:

F. K. MCCANER, WM. A. STONE.

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